Review:
At 2:23 AM Pacific Standard Time, every structure on Earth with a roof is flattened. The only survivors are those who were outside at the time. The alien beings responsible for all this destruction give them a choice: they can either try to survive in what's left of their world, or they can enter the 18-Level World Dungeon, where they will be expected to fight their way through each timed level. Only those who make it through all 18 levels or meet certain other requirements will be given their freedom. Their efforts in the dungeon will be broadcast for the viewing pleasure of an alien audience.
At the moment of the apocalypse, Carl happens to have just stepped out in his boxers, a leather jacket, and a pair of ill-fitting crocs in an effort to bring his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, back inside. If he hadn't entered the Dungeon, he'd have frozen to death, but that doesn't make him feel much better as the NPCs he encounters immediately try to kill him. If Carl and Donut are to survive, they're going to have to figure out what's going on, level up, be creative, and keep moving.
I've read a lot of Japanese isekai light novels in which the main character is transported into a world with RPG-like rules, but I think this is my first originally-released-in-English LitRPG read. I went into this expecting it to be fairly ridiculous, so the darker aspects took me by surprise. When Carl actually had time to stop and think, he was keenly aware that humans were rapidly being wiped out. About 10 million humans made it into the Dungeon and, a few hours later, less than 4.5 million were still alive.
That said, while all of this was terrible, it wasn't generally presented as a personal tragedy for Carl. Similar to many Japanese isekai main characters, it didn't seem like there were a lot of people in Carl's life that he was attached to - he didn't have a good relationship with his family, there were never moments where he thought about friends or coworkers, and he wasn't particularly upset at the idea that his ex-girlfriend probably died when the world was flattened (in fact, however he felt for her, he figured it was probably a mercy if she'd been one of the billions of initial deaths).
If Carl (and readers) were going to grieve for anyone, it would be individuals he encountered while in the Dungeon. I figured Donut was probably going to be ok for a while (if Dinniman ever kills her off, it will wreck me). But anyone else? That was iffier. And there were definitely characters Dinniman could have used to milk the tragedy of the situation. Instead, however, the author kept things moving along, and the lack of time for characters to really stop and dwell on everything, plus the action and moments of humor, kept things from getting truly dark and depressing.
As with RPG-like Japanese isekai, one thing about this series that will likely turn some readers off is the large amount of text devoted to player, NPC, and item stats, abilities, and flavor text. There's a lot, and if you feel compelled to try to keep track of it all, it will likely drive you insane. Personally, I just rolled with it and generally enjoyed the flavor text (when it wasn't making me outraged on Carl and Donut's behalf at how horrible the AI and the Borant Corporation were).
I initially thought Donut (who, early on, gets the ability to talk) was going to be too arrogant and annoying for me, but she won me over when she showed her more scared and vulnerable side. I'm sure Dinniman has some heartstring tugging moments in store for readers where she's concerned - I suspect that Beatrice, Carl's ex-girlfriend, is still around somewhere, ready for a scene in which Donut will be forced to choose between her and Carl. And if Beatrice is really dead, well, the moment Donut is forced to accept that is going to be bad enough.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to the next volume.
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